The importance of cleanliness has long been recognized, particularly in the fields of heath-care, food preparation, and laboratories, to name but a few. The practice of surgical scrubbing by surgeons and other operating room personnel is probably the epitome of efforts to cleanse the hands and forearms of persons working in sterile environments. Although manual hand-washing can appear to be effective, medical experts have concluded that automated hand-washing increases hand-washing compliance and reduces the risk of infection.
Touchless automated hand-washing devices are designed to wash the hands of the user and provide the proper amount of antimicrobial solution in a set time. Additionally, these systems diminish the deterrent effects of friction and irritation associated with frequent manual hand-washing. Notwithstanding the benefits and convenience of automated washing devices, difficulties still exist with verifying employee or staff use of the washing apparatus. Moreover, existing systems lack the ability to provide a complete washing. It would be advantageous to have a system that provides automated washing that may be operable to verify usage by the intended users. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system and method for providing automated washing, which may be operable to monitor compliance with one or more hygiene requirements.
In addition to the foregoing, problems also exit with ensuring compliance with hygiene requirements. For some prior art monitored hygiene stations, a user easily operate the station in a manner that falsely registers compliance with a hygiene requirement. For instance, a user may simply stand in front of an optical sensor without washing his or her hands in the sink or wash basin. The user may then proceed engage in a work activity without having truly complied with a hygiene requirement. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have system for verifying and/or ensuring compliance with a hygiene requirement.
In designing an automated cleaning system a number of features should be considered. For example, a method for verifying compliance with a hygiene requirement should be provided. The method for verifying hygiene compliance should include recording the identity of the user and determining if a hygiene cycle is needed (based on information associated with the person). If a hygiene cycle is needed, the verification method should further include detecting a presence of a user's appendage within a wash chamber, starting a washing cycle, and determining if the washing cycle is complete. If the washing cycle is complete, the method should include stopping the washing cycle and recording that the user completed the washing cycle. If the washing cycle is not complete, the method should include determining if the at least one appendage is within the wash chamber. If the appendage is not within the wash chamber, the method should include stopping the washing cycle and recording that the user did not complete the washing cycle. If the appendage is within the wash chamber, the method should still further include continuing the washing cycle until the wash cycle is complete or the appendage is no longer within the wash chamber.
In designing an automated cleaning system, the automated cleaning system should also be capable of verifying user compliance with a hygiene protocol. The verification system should provide a hygiene compliance monitor operable to monitor an identity of the user and determine if a hygiene cycle is needed (based on information associated with the person). If a hygiene cycle is needed the compliance monitor should detect a presence of a user's appendage within a wash chamber, start a washing cycle, and then determine if the washing cycle is complete. If the wash cycle is complete, the compliance monitor should stop the washing cycle and record that the user completed the washing cycle. If the wash cycle is not complete, the compliance monitor should determine if the appendage remains within the wash chamber. If the appendage is not within the wash chamber, the compliance monitor should stop the washing cycle and record that the user did not complete the washing cycle. If the at least one appendage is within the wash chamber, the compliance monitor should continue the washing cycle and the washing cycle should continues until the wash cycle is complete or the appendage is no longer within the wash chamber.
When designing an automated cleaning system, a method to report hygiene non-compliance should also be provided. The method of detecting non-compliance should include determining an identifier associated with a user, determining that the user failed to complete a wash cycle, determining a response to the unsuccessful wash (different users should have different responses to an unsuccessful wash), and initiating a selected response.